1,817 Shares in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Purchased by Pines Wealth Management LLC

Pines Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,817 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $917,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $508.49 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $524.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $493.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $466.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.46, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $425.48 and a 1-year high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Macquarie raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.